PINGGIR MENTARI SDN BHD v 1. ) TRIBUNAL PENGURUSAN STRATA 2. ) PERBADANAN PENGURUSAN CAMELIA

Case Significance

Illustrates the limited grounds for judicial review of a Strata Management Tribunal award — the applicant must establish a serious irregularity under section 121(3) of the Strata Management Act 2013 — and confirms the Tribunal's jurisdiction over disputes on the costs of and repairs to common-property defects.

This High Court decision at Kuala Lumpur, sitting in its Special Powers Division, concerns an application for judicial review to quash an award of the Strata Management Tribunal. The applicant was the developer of a phased housing development that included a stratified development, and the second respondent was the management corporation of that stratified development, established under the Strata Titles Act 1985. The management corporation had brought a claim before the Tribunal, established under the Strata Management Act 2013, in respect of common-area defects, and the Tribunal had awarded the management corporation RM7,200 for the replacement of RFID access equipment and RM45,000 for losses arising from high water charges, together with interest and costs, to be paid by the developer.

The developer sought to quash the award, contending that the Tribunal had erred in law or fact, or acted in excess of or without jurisdiction, in respect of two matters: a barrier access card reader that interfered with vehicle RFID, and high water billing attributed to a suspected leak that the developer had not rectified. It also argued that the award was defective for want of reasons.

The court held that the Tribunal's jurisdiction extended to a dispute on the costs of, or repairs to, a defect in a subdivided building and its common property, and that on the pleaded claim the high water billing was attributed to possible leakage, which the developer had not challenged with evidence. It rejected the complaint that no reasons had been given, noting that the grounds of decision ran to 14 pages with reasons set out. Finding that the developer had not established any serious irregularity in the award under section 121(3) of the Strata Management Act 2013, the court dismissed the application with costs of RM10,000.00. The judgment illustrates the limited grounds for judicial review of a Strata Management Tribunal award.